


Exchange Students.

by cutenewt



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: Adorable Newt Scamander, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Angst, Autistic Newt Scamander, Childhood Friends, Cinnamon Roll Newt Scamander, Comfort/Angst, F/M, Fluff, Hogwarts, Hufflepuff Pride, Hurt Newt Scamander, POV Tina Goldstein, Protective Queenie Goldstein, Protective Tina Goldstein, Sad Newt Scamander, Young Newt Scamander
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-12
Updated: 2018-12-22
Packaged: 2019-08-22 15:27:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16600592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cutenewt/pseuds/cutenewt
Summary: One year on after the Goldstein sisters had lost their parents, and they’re ready to begin their schooling once more. After living in foster care for the majority of the time, the finalised paperwork to be rehomed with an aunt in England has arrived, along with their passports. It’s two weeks until the term begins again at Hogwarts, but third year Tina isn’t sure if she’s going to fit in. Queenie is excited to finally begin learning magic, although her heart breaks a little for the loss of not being able to attend Ilvermorny. The sisters board the boat, arriving in England to meet their new family. Terrified yet hoping for a new start, the girls step onto British soil for the first time…





	1. Chapter 1

_ - _

 

“Everybody talks funny here, Teenie!” Queenie whispers, clutching her suitcase in one hand and her sister’s hand in the other. “Do y’think they think I talk funny?”

 

“Shush, Queenie. I’m lookin’ for her,” Tina grumbles, weaving through the crowds to look for their Aunt — they’ve only seen photos, and never met the woman. Quite frankly Tina would rather live alone.

 

Finally, they see the woman. She looks moderately welcoming, a small sign in her hand that reads ‘Goldsteins.’ The woman waves towards the girls, who hurry over. “Come on, we must hurry. If we don’t get to Diagon Alley soon, you’ll miss getting school supplies!”

 

“School supplies?!” Queenie squeaks. “Oh, But… I don’t have no British money.” she pouts.

 

The girls hurry along behind their aunt. “That’s quite alright, I’ve received the funds over from America.” She explains, and Tina knows that it’s money from their parents.

 

Upon arriving inside of the alley, Queenie is absolutely entranced by it all. Each and every shop they enter she gasps at, whilst her Aunt helps to pick out the correct books for them both. After collecting everything they need for their lessons, they stop outside of a shop called ‘Ollivanders.’ “What’s this for?” The small, blonde asks.

 

“You need a wand, don’t you?” The woman laughs, gently pushing her towards the door.

 

Tina sighs. She’s still juggling all of the bags and her feet hurt. She wishes they were still in New York. “Teenie! I get a wand! In England!” Queenie squeaks loudly, making her sister jump and drop some books.

 

Her aunt sends her a scolding look, but picks them up for her. “Come on Porpentina, we must get your sister a wand,” they head inside, whilst Tina glares at the back of her aunt’s head.

 

They step inside the shop, greeted by a warm and cosy atmosphere. There’s a man behind the counter, who greets Queenie with a smile. “Here to get your first wand, Miss?” He asks.

 

“Yes!” Queenie squeaks, turning back to look at Tina who quickly smiles.

 

“Ah, an American… let’s see,” the person turns around, scouring the shelves for a wand to give to Queenie.

 

The first one isn’t successful, and she grows worried immediately that she’s done something wrong. But, after the second try she feels elated as the wand emits little golden sparks and a warming light. “This is the wand for you.”

 

-

 

One more week passes by, and then it seems that their Aunt is ecstatic to be sending them away so soon. They stand on platform 9 ¾, Tina still recovering from having to run through a damn wall. Queenie doesn’t let go of her sister’s hand as they step onto the express train, sort of half waving behind her even though she can no longer see their Aunt watching. They find an empty carriage, and sit together in silence.

 

“You’re not excited,” the younger sister whispers, not phrasing it like a question.

 

Tina shrugs.

 

“It’ll be fun, Teenie! I’m sure Hogwarts will make a good second best.”

 

When they arrive, Tina has to follow every other first year student since she needs to be sorted too. There’s a knot in her stomach as she stands in the crowd, feeling just as new as everyone else there despite the fact that she towers over all of the eleven year olds. Her name is called out, and she cringes inwardly at the sound of her first name being properly used. All eyes are on her as she sits down, the sorting hat placed firmly upon her head.

 

“Another Goldstein! Although… I feel not a Hufflepuff like your sister. A Thunderbird at Ilvermorny. You do seem rather ambitious… wouldn’t stop for anyone or anything? Yes, I see it now. Slytherin!” It bellows, making her flinch.

 

She wanders down the steps, being greeted by the judging stares of students dressed in green and black. Tina sits down, feeling her cheeks burning and a prickling behind her eyes. All she wants is to be back at Ilvermorny. She had a handful of friends there, and she was excelling in every class. Nobody knows her here. Tina doesn’t know anybody. She just wants to go home.

 

~

 

Having now received their uniforms and attended a few classes, it’s obvious as to which Goldstein is more excited. “Look how cute I look!”  Queenie beams, flouncing into the Great Hall one week later.

 

“Delightful,” Tina mutters, sitting next to her sister on the Hufflepuff table and hearing a few whispers.

 

“Teenie, being a Slytherin isn’t bad. I did some readin’, they’re cunning and ambitious and strive to succeed. I don’t get how that’s a bad thing.” The little, blonde shrugs, crunching on some toast.

 

Her sister reluctantly joins her in eating some breakfast, sighing softly. “Tina,  how's your lessons? Professor Sprout is so lovely! She’s my head of house.” Queenie rambles, finishing her toast and reaching for a pastry. “Teenie? You listenin’?”

 

“What?” Tina looks over. “Yeah, uh… they’re good.”

 

Queenie huffs sadly. “Well, I gotta go to Charms. See you later!” The girl gets up and skips off, as if she doesn’t have a care in the whole world.

 

Her elder sister has potions first, which she’s been dreading each time it comes up. Professor slughorn seems to have a weird hatred towards her. Maybe it’s because she’s new… or American… or just because he seems quite miserable in general? All the same she knows she must go, so Tina hurries along not wanting to be late.

 

But, that’s exactly what happens. The poor girl bursts in fifteen minutes into the lesson, feeling the stares glued towards her. “Sorry, Professor,” Tina breathes out. “The stairs changed, I got lost.” She can feel herself blushing from the sheer embarrassment.

 

“Take a seat, Goldstein.” The man glares.

 

Tina’s eyes travel towards the only spare seat left. It’s next to a Hufflepuff boy, who is intently staring at his potion. Hurrying over, she sits down and peers into his cauldron. “Hey, uh… what’re we doing?” She asks.

 

The student slides over his notes on the ingredients, and Tina gets to work. The lesson goes by without a word spoken between them, but she really doesn’t mind. She manages to finish her potion in time thanks to him sharing her notes, so  afterwards she gives him a quick ‘thanks’ before heading off. Next is Herbology and Tina wonders if she will be compared to her sister or something else that will make her day that much more awkward.

 

Thankfully, she enjoys the lesson a lot more than she’d thought she would. Tina heads out, wanting to get a little bit more of exploring done before lunch. She does not want to get lost again…  _ who has moving stairs in their school anyway?!  _ The witch wanders into the courtyard, but freezes on the spot as she hears somebody jeering.

 

“Hey, look at me! You knocked my books over so you’ll pick them up!”

 

“I’m… I’m sorry.”

 

“You should be, Scamander.”

 

Then, there’s a thud and the sound of running feet accompanied by cruel laughter. Tina turns the corner, coming face to face with her potions partner. “Are you okay?” She asks, offering him a hand to help him up.

 

“I’m alright, thank you,” he mumbles, standing up on his own.

 

Tina awkwardly moves her hand back down to her side. “You’re bleeding,” she observes aloud, pointing at some scuffs on his knuckles that must have been from the wall. He was most likely shoved.

 

“Oh,” 

 

“Oh?”

 

“I… uh… I’m Newt.” His eyes flicker upwards, and Tina captures hints of green and blue as the sun shines upon his face.

 

She smiles. “I’m Tina, but you probably know that since I had to be sorted last week. Uh, and I guess my accent shows I don’t really belong here.” Her gaze travels to the floor, and she tucks a few strands of hair behind her ear.

 

“Every… everyone belongs at Hogwarts.” Newt says.

 

This gets Tina thinking for a moment, and it makes her feel just a little bit happier. Before she can thank him for his words, a girl whom she recognises from the Slytherin table strides over. “Newt! You were late for our studying.”

 

“Sorry, Leta. I — I was just on my way.”

 

Tina stands there, wondering if she’s going to acknowledge her. “We’d better go,” the girl says, giving Tina what looks to be a forceful smile before taking Newt’s arm and leading him away.

 

Once they’re gone, leaving her alone again, Tina scoffs. “ _ Rude _ ,” she mutters, kicking a stone and continuing her journey across the path.

 

~


	2. Chapter 2

~

 

Tina doesn’t see her little sister sitting happily at the Hufflepuff dinner when she enters the Great Hall, so she turns directly on her heel after searching and walks right back out. Something must’ve happened if Queenie is late, because this usually never happens on purpose. Unless she really dislikes you though.

 

That’s when a small, sobbing whirlwind bumps into her. “Queenie?!” The elder sibling exclaims, genuinely shocked.

 

“Teenie! I’m late, sorry... I was… have you already eaten somethin’? I don’t wanna eat anyway,” she rambles, each breath a gasp for air and every sob making her curls bounce.

 

Tina puts her hands onto Queenie’s shoulder. “Stop,” she raises her voice a little and her sister jumps. “It’s alright.” She hushes, wrapping her arms around the young girl.

 

She cries for a whilst just in her sister’s arms, then Tina rests her chin upon Queenie’s head and asks “what’s wrong?”

 

The witch wriggles out of her arms, and wipes under her eyes. “I don’t fit in here, Teenie. Everyone thinks I’m weird and they don’t like me. The teachers think I talk too much, but I just wanna make… I just wanna make friends.” She gulps, biting down on her bottom lip to prevent it from shaking.

 

“Who said this to you?” Tina doesn’t mean to sound so demanding, but whenever somebody upsets her little sister it kind of means war.

 

Queenie looks down at her feet, a few tears dripping down and bouncing off of her shoes. “I heard them,” she mumbles.

 

“Like you knew I wasn’t excited?”

 

Her sister nods. Tina gives her another hug. “First impressions are stupid, so don’t listen to anyone. They’ll grow to love you.”

 

“What if they don’t?” The blonde looks up again, droplets clinging to her eyelashes. Those eyes that are usually so bright and full of hope dulled by tears.

 

“Then… I’ll kick their asses.”

 

Queenie giggles.

 

“Can we go eat now, Teenie?” She sniffs.

 

Tina nods. “C’mon,” she puts an arm around her. “Tell me what your favourite lesson is so far!”

 

They walk into the Great Hall side by side, and Queenie starts to talk excitedly about charms and how she made a feather float today. Her sister sighs, relief taking over her. Whether or not Tina hates it here matters nothing, as long as her sister is alright she really doesn’t mind.

 

-

 

**_Two weeks later._ **

 

Queenie has begun to make a few friends, and is getting on very well in Hufflepuff. Her initial worries about people finding her weird turned out to be more that everyone is curious about her. Her main friend is a young girl in the same house and year as her, named Millicent. Tina has already discreetly checked her out to ensure she’s friendly, and the kid can’t even kill a fly without apologising. So, the elder sister backs off after realising she’s harmless and really quite friendly.

 

But, on the other hand Tina hasn’t really settled in yet. She feels so out of place with every other third year who already belong to a friendship group. All of her fellow Slytherins seem to give her funny looks each time she enters the common room, and nobody wants to sit with her in lessons.

 

She’s just finished in potions class and has a little while until dinner. Tina doesn’t want to go back to the common room, but she still hasn’t found a place she feels at rest in this unfamiliar environment. Walking out of the classroom, the witch is overtaken by a group of girls who bump into her. One of her books falls to the floor, then another student walks by her and pushes into her side, sending each other book toppling down onto the floor.

 

Tina stands her ground, glaring up at them as they all laugh. She crouches down to pick them up, trying not to feel affected by it. Somebody crouches down opposite her, handing her the last book. “Here,” the gentle voice sounds somewhat familiar.

 

“Thanks, Newt.” She manages a smile, looking up to see him already hurrying up to his feet.

 

Then Tina comes to the realisation that in the group of students who had pushed past her was Newt’s friend, Leta. She wasn’t sure if she’d actually pushed her or just been laughing amongst her friends to fit in… but, now Tina feels uneasy as she spies the girl waiting a few metres away.

 

“You coming?” She calls to Newt.

 

He shakes his head. “You… you go ahead,” the wizard replies.

 

She pouts and makes a sort of scoffing noise, before spinning around on her heel and flouncing off. Tina rolls her eyes.

 

“Um… see you around?” Newt shifts his weight from foot to foot, not knowing where to look so it seems.

 

“I’d like that,” Tina murmurs, unsure if he even heard since he’s walking off without any time to waste.

 

-

 

**_One week later._ **

 

Sneaking into the artefacts room is one of Newt’s only ways to be alone. Sometimes he will sit down by the lake, but usually students come and bother him with their significant others acting all social and disturbing his peace. But, nobody ever comes in here. This is where he can come to relax, read a book or just escape the outside noise for a while.

 

Except somebody is here today… he notices them the second he closes the door behind him. Newt is good at picking up even the slightest of noises, especially somewhere that’s usually so quiet. At first the wizard turns to leave, but a small voice utters a tearful “wait.”

 

Newt walks over to one of the bookshelves, and looks down to see someone sitting up against the wall. “Tina?” He frowns, wondering what could be wrong.

 

“I didn’t think anyone would come in here,” she whispers.

 

“Well, that is why _I_ usually come in here.” He admits.

 

She laughs a little.

 

Newt sits opposite her, crossing his legs. He never usually engages in conversations if not with Leta or his brother at school, because nobody really ever speaks to him in the first place. But, he quite likes Tina and she seems to need someone right now. So, he will try. “Are… um… are you… are you okay?” He stumbles over each word, growing nervous as he notices her cheeks are streaked with tears.

 

“I just miss home.” Tina exhales a shaky breath, wiping underneath her eyes. “I don’t wanna be here,” she mumbles.

 

He can’t really relate to what she’s feeling, but he certainly understands what it feels like to not fit in somewhere. He also has no idea why she came here in the first place, as he chooses to ignore whispered rumours. “Do you want to t — talk about it?”

 

“Not really,” her voice is still shaky. Tina doesn’t want to bother him with all of her emotional baggage. “I just gotta get this all out so when I see my sister later she can’t read me… she has this way of knowing what I’m thinkin’, y’know?”

 

Newt’s lips curve into a smile at the sound of her accent, it makes a change to how everyone else talks. He’s not one to favour change, but this change is welcoming. “Like a legilimens?” He says.

 

Tina looks at him, but his eyes are focused on his shoes. “Exactly like that…” she mumbles.

 

“Being a legilimens must be quite helpful,” he muses outloud, and she smiles.

 

She’d never considered Queenie to have this ability before, despite learning about legilimens in her first year, but it does make sense. “Some people can be hard to read,” Tina agrees, her mind traveling to her aunt.

 

“Everyone is hard to read,” Newt replies. “Don’t you think?” For a second his eyes meet hers.

 

“Especially here. Everyone talks about me.” The witch sighs, wiping her eyes again.

 

“Well, if it makes you feel any better I certainly don’t join in.”

 

She chuckles softly. “Thanks.”

 

After a few minutes of silence, Newt clears his throat. “I have to go to class, but if you like you can come in here whenever you want.”

 

She knows this seems to be his quiet space to feel alone, and it seems to mean quite a lot to him. So, Tina accepts this as a rather kind gesture. But, he’s gone before she can thank him once more.

 

~


	3. Chapter 3

-

 

**_One week later._ **

 

It’s a Sunday, so the Goldstein sisters have been studying in the library together. They’ve faced more social challenges the past week, but of course Queenie has ended it with another two friends she’s made in her house. Tina is happy for her, but a part of her is jealous at how easy it is for her to befriend people with her happy and outgoing attitude.

 

The pair are just wandering across the grounds, when suddenly the little blonde gasps. “Teenie, look!” She grabs her sister’s arm, and turns her towards a student who’s propped up against the wall, clearly injured.

 

It takes a moment or two, but Tina quickly realises that it’s Newt. She runs over, with her younger sister hurrying behind. “Newt, what happened?!” The brunette asks, crouching down beside him.

 

The wizard has cuts and grazes all over his exposed skin and even his robes are slightly torn. There’s crimson stains that have dripped down against his shirt collar and his eyes are filled with tears. He won’t talk.

 

“I think someone did this, Teen.” Queenie whispers, hiding behind her sister.

 

Tina turns to him, and picks up his hand in her own. That’s when she realises his wand is lying in the grass. “Who did this to you?” She asks.

 

He shakes his head, eyes now closed. The girl turns back to her sister. “Read his mind.” She demands suddenly.

 

Queenie looks confused, and mildly terrified. “What do y’mean, Teenie?” She squeaks, falling down into the grass after being balanced on her knees.

 

Tina takes a deep breath. “Sorry, I mean… do the thing you do. Try to know what he’s feeling,” the sister reiterates, forgetting that the conversation about legitimacy wasn’t even with her.

 

“Oh, okay.” The blonde haired girl looks a little more at ease. She shuffles closer towards Newt and looks at him. “I think… I think it was a friend?” Queenie’s brow furrows, and she grows quiet as she can feel how upset he is.

 

“Leta…” Tina’s eyes grow dark. Newt’s stance changes to being a lot more rigid and he screws his eyes shut even more. “Is that who it was, Newt?” She asks, but there’s no reply.

 

Queenie nods slowly, looking at Tina. “He can’t say it. He wants to protect her. Oh, Teenie he’s so sad! I can’t say no more, he feels so confused. I don’t like this.” She rambles, becoming terribly overwhelmed.

 

“Go back to the castle, get help for Newt.” Tina tells her sister, who’s trying so hard not to cry.

 

“What are you gonna do?” Queenie calls after her, as her sister starts walking off into the distance.

 

There’s no reply.

 

It doesn’t take Tina overly long to find Leta; she’d assumed that she would be where the older students practice duelong. Sure enough the girl is there with a couple of other Slytherin girls, most likely bragging about how they’d hurt Newt Tina thinks to herself. The second she has her in her eyeline Tina withdraws her wand, points it before her and shouts “Expelliarmus!” sending Leta tumbling to the ground.

 

“What the hell are you doing?!” One of her friends yells, as Tina gets closer.

 

She walks right up to where Leta is now sitting up, and points her wand down. “What did you do to Newt?!” Tina exclaims.

 

“I —“

 

“You all think it’s funny, huh? Pretending to like him one minute and then hurting him the next?” Out of the corner Tina can see the other girl getting her wand from her pocket, so she turns. “Protego!”

 

The other Slytherin glares, attempting to shoot another spell back, but Tina has already knocked her wand out of her hand before she can even get the first syllable off of her tongue. “You leave Newt alone.” She snaps, turning back to Leta, who got some reason is still sat on the floor.

 

But, the third Slytherin now has her wand raised and in the moment of adrenaline rush Tina had almost forgotten she was there. She must have been trying to help Leta up, and the girl is urging her to fight Tina back but she’s shaking her head. “I’ll do it myself then!” She casts ‘Depulso,’ and the other witch manages to shield herself with yet another well cast ‘Protego.’

 

Tina throws back yet another jinx, the girl hitting back once again. They shoot back various spells back and forth, with the third year dodging almost every single one. She doesn’t want to hurt anyone really, but her anger seems to not want to dissipate.

 

“Both of you, stop it!” Leta cries, but neither students listen.

 

Tina and the other girl each have their wands raised, stood in duelling stance. “Tell her to lower her wand then.” She says through gritted teeth, beginning to taste blood from whatever jinx the girl had managed to hit her with just moments before.

 

“Janie, c’mon she isn’t worth it.” Leta tells her friend, as she struggles  to stand up.

 

Tina frowns; she’d only hit the girl with the simplest of spells. Leta steps towards the clearly older witch, and then she lowers her wand. Upon this action happening, Leta goes over to her other friend who seems to have surrendered a few metres away. Tina lowers her wand to, looking down to pocket it when…

 

“Stupefy!”

 

And everything goes black.

 

-


	4. Chapter 4

The next thing Tina sees is whitewashed walls and a blanket covering her body; she must be in the hospital wing. “That bitch!” She suddenly exclaims, the memory of the older Slytherin girl tricking her during their duel. She bolts upright, not really knowing what she’s planning on doing but wanting to somehow get revenge, only to fall flat on her back as a wave of dizziness succumbs to her body.

 

“Miss Goldstein!” A female voice scolds, and she assumes that it’s Madame Pomfrey.

 

Unable to talk due to nausea, Tina just groans. “I’d like to talk to her now,” a different voice says, and she groans even louder —  _ her head of house _ . “ What did you think you were doing, dueling on school grounds?” He asks.

 

She opens her mouth to defend herself, but he isn’t finished. “The  _ both _ of you.”

 

Tina frowns.

 

“Professor, I was trying to teach students how to defend themselves. It all got out of hand.” Turning, Tina settles her gaze upon Leta. Her arm is in a sling.

 

“Is that what you were doing? Teaching Newt to defend himself by almost killing him?!” Tina is unable to stop herself from defending him, feeling the heat of anger all over again.

 

“Quiet.” Slughorn demands.

 

The students both stop. “Miss Lestrange… did you hurt Mr. Scamander?”

 

“I was helping him duel when he refused to duel back. The other girls stepped in for me.” She mumbles.

 

“Names?”

 

Leta gulps. “I can’t remember.”

 

He sighs exasperatedly. “Miss Goldstein, do you recall their names?” He asks.

 

She shakes her head. “I don’t really know anybody yet, Sir.” Tina answers truthfully.

 

“Well, I hope your memory come back soon, Lestrange. I will be arranging detention for the both of you in the meantime.” He informs then, before walking out of sight.

 

-

 

Tina is allowed out of the hospital that night, since she was only suffering from a few cuts and bruises other than the minor concussion from getting knocked out by that final spell that was unfairly shot at her. She didn’t say a single word to Leta whilst there, and it seemed as though the girls may have all been dueling each other and that’s why she had a hurt arm… or maybe they ganged up on her when she defended Newt? Tina didn’t want to ask. She is only worried about how he’s doing, and Tina hadn’t been able to sneak out or ask anybody where he was in fear of Leta interfering.

 

So, the next morning at breakfast she decides to look for him. He isn’t in the Great Hall nor the artefacts room, but Leta was at their house table eating alone so that means that Tina is able to check the hospital wing without anyone getting in her way. And when she enters and asks if Newt is there, Madame Pomfrey leads her to the correct bed. “Hi,” Tina smiles.

 

He looks a lot better than he did the day before; no longer in his bloodied uniform but pyjamas instead, and the cuts on his face are mostly gone minus a few that are a little faded. “Hello,” Newt says back, looking down at the bruises on his right knuckles.

 

“How’re you feelin’ now?” Tina asks, taking a seat in the chair beside his bed.

 

“I’m… I’m feeling much better, thank you. I’m actually about to go, um, they just had to stop the bleeding and keep a close eye on the concussion. I’m alright now,” he explains.

 

“Want me to walk you back?” She offers.

 

Newt takes a deep breath. “Al — alright,” he agrees.

 

The two students take a slow walk back to the Hufflepuff dormitories together, where Tina drops him off and makes sure he’ll be okay. She sighs when he’s gone, becoming a little fond of him. But, she knows that he’s friends with Leta… maybe even something more. Tina walks back to the Slytherin dorms, not really wanting to face the girls who she fought with yesterday but knowing that the inevitable will happen sometime soon.

 

-

 

The next day is Monday, and Tina sees Newt in Potions again. He has a spare seat beside him, and Leta is a few tables away watching him. At first, Tina doesn’t want to get on her bad side anymore and thinks about sitting somewhere else, but when she looks around the room at the faces giving her glares from her own house she decides to just play it safe and go over to him. “Mind if I sit?” She asks, noticing how the bruising along the side of his face has turned to faded grey.

 

“Go ahead,” he replies, still concentrating on his paper.

 

Slughorn begins the lesson, and the students get to work. Neither of the pair speak a word to one another until Newt glances across at her and notices that there’s a cut on her forehead. “What happened?” He asks, suddenly realising that he hasn’t given context. “I — I mean, to your head?”

 

He must not have noticed her injuries when she’d visited him yesterday due to still being so tired… Tina had forgotten that he had no idea she’d gone to find Leta and defend him. “Uh, I —“

 

“Miss Goldstein, there’s no time for idle chat here. Continue your potion, please.” Slughorn calls over to her, making her jump.

 

She nods, her head down. Tina continues to add the correct ingredients into her potion, whispering to Newt that they can talk after class. She’s unsure if he actually wants to, but he nods all the same and here’s a small amount of hope within that he actually likes her. When class ends, she manages to pluck up the courage to actually ask him if he wants to talk in the archives room again. But, Tina’s heart sinks when she notices Leta waiting a few metres away and Newt briefly looks over. “I — I promised Leta I’d study with her… she wants to talk to me. Would you, um, like to another time?” He stumbles over his words, failing to maintain eye contact.

 

“Sure,” Tina answers, biting her tongue to stop herself from saying anything else. “Another time.” She repeats.


	5. Chapter 5

By the time late afternoon rolls around, Tina is curled up in front of the fireplace in her common room. It’s the beginning of October and the days are growing much chillier, which only makes her think of New York at Christmas time. She sighs heavily, snapping her book shut as she hears another student enter the area. “Hey, Goldstein?” It’s a male voice, and she recognises him to be her Prefect; they’ve never talked, but he’s introduced himself before. “Your little sister is waiting outside for you.”

 

Tina looks over at him and gets to her feet. “Uh, thanks.” She mutters, wondering what Queenie would be doing here when she’s usually enjoying the feast in the Great Hall at this time of day. The witch exits the common room, meeting the younger girl out in the corridor.

 

“Teenie!” The blonde beams, skipping forwards to be by her side. “Newt said he wanted to talk to you… he seems worried.” Queenie informs her. “He said you’ll know where he’ll be.”

 

“Thank you, Queenie… you go find your friend now, okay?” The brunette tells her, giving her a quick smile to ensure her mind is at ease. “I’ll grab some food in a while.”

 

The first year nods, and hurries away so as not to miss any more time with her fellow housemates. Tina quickens her own pace towards the Artifacts room, sneaking inside and taking a glance before the door closes just in case anyone may have followed her — thankfully she’s safe. “Newt?” She calls out quietly, her eyes scanning around until she spots him sat against a bookcase, nose buried inside of a turquoise coloured hardback.

 

Upon hearing her voice he slowly lowers the book, and Tina notices some bruising that’s formed around his nose. “What did you wanna talk about?” She asks, removing her gaze away from his injuries.

 

“Leta… Leta told me what you did. She wanted you to know she didn’t want you to get hurt.” He says softly, not looking up. Tina sits a few metres in front of him, waiting for him to continue. “You didn’t have… have to, uh, do anything for me. It got out of hand when I refused to duel her, and her friends… well, they stepped in and knocked her down. I got outnumbered and stopped fighting back.” He shrugs. “Leta told me to fight back, but I didn’t want to be there, she told me it was just going to be me and her…” Newt trails off, wiping his eyes with the sleeve of his robes. He groans in pain a little, and sinks further down the bookcase.

 

Tina exhales a breath she hadn’t realised was being held in. She doesn’t want to offend Newt by insulting Leta, so she takes a moment to think of something to say. “You don’t need to fight anyone to be a hero,” she whispers.

 

He lifts his head, the dimly lit room casting shadows across the black and blue marks scattered amongst his freckles. “Thanks, but maybe you should take your own advice.” Newt smirks and Tina feels taken aback by his sudden use of sarcasm.

 

“Well, it was a fair fight until her friend hit me with the spell that knocked me out,” she mumbles, a smile starting to form upon her own face. “Leta tried to stop us.”

 

“She told me… she said you’re a really talented witch,” Newt replies, glancing up at her again and their eyes meet for more than a second. Tina smiles at him, watching him look away.

 

A somewhat comfortable silence descends upon them both, until he clears his throat. “Um, did you know it’s our first care of magical creatures lesson tomorrow?” The wizard asks.

 

“Yes… I guess we’d better go eat some dinner so we don’t collapse during it though. Are you excited?” Tina asks, catching a glimpse of his unfading smile when she gets to her feet.

 

He nods, walking towards the door and holding it open for her. “Definitely.” Newt grins.

 

~

 

When Tina wanders through the grounds to get to her next lesson, she isn’t surprised to find Newt standing beside Leta. But, she remembers the fact that the witch seems to somewhat admire her combat skills, plus the fact that she most likely didn’t mean for her nor Newt to get hurt on Monday. So, Tina takes a deep breath and stands a little way back from them, and prepares herself for this new lesson to begin.

 

Their Professor begins by explaining health and safety regulations to them; which really isn’t too comforting considering the fact that he seems to be missing a limb or two. “So… does anybody here know about Hippogriffs? Magnificent creatures, but they can be quite dangerous.” He exclaims, looking around at the students who all stare back at him.

 

“Newt does!” Leta suddenly blurts out, making the Hufflepuff beside her jump.

 

Kettleburn turns to face Newt, who had previously been clutching his book to his chest as some sort of coping mechanism is seems. “Mr. Scamander… Care to share your knowledge?” The Professor asks, stepping closer to him.

 

“Um… my… my Mother kept them. They… there’s a very strict ritual to greet them and once you’ve done this, it’s really quite easy to befriend them. They’re beautiful creatures you know,” Newt explains, growing in confidence as he continues to talk.

 

“Well, it’s wonderful that you have just volunteered to be my first student to meet Harold!” Kettleburn beams, walking a little further into the trees and returning with a rather large, birdlike animal.

 

Most of the class take a few steps back in unison, leaving Newt stood up front. The murmurs amongst them quieten down as Kettle urn gestures for Newt to go ahead. The boy gently places his book down onto the floor and steps forwards, bowing his head to the creature. He then lifts his gaze and locks it with the creature, who eventually bows its head back. Newt raises his right hand in a slightly shaky motion, but doesn’t break eye contact with the bird. It emits a soft, but gruff chirp like sound and juts it’s head upwards, taking a step forwards to bump against his palm. Newt chuckles, running his hand along the feathers upon its head.

 

“Well done, Scamander! That was truly astounding! Right… who’s next?” Kettleburn asks, as Newt smiles up at the creature, giving it one last careful pat before he retreats backwards again.

 

Tina watches him pick up his book, and it’s as if he reverts back to be an introvert the second he leaves the company of the creature. She hears Leta volunteer herself to go next, and Tina waits for a moment where she can go up to Newt. She gently taps his shoulder, and he turns. “You were awesome with the Hippogriff,” the brunette whispers to him.

 

He breaks into a shy smile, turning back to watch Leta attempt the same ritual. “Thanks,” Newt replies.


	6. Chapter 6

On Wednesday morning Tina sits beside her little sister during breakfast time, residing safely at the Hufflepuff table as opposed to her own house. The brunette idly stirs her goblet of orange juice with a teaspoon, staring into space before realising that Newt is sat just a few chairs away — without a certain Miss Lestrange too. “You should go talk to him! He’s very nice, he tells me about creatures sometimes.” Queenie's friend exclaims gleefully, her bottlecap glasses sinking lower down her freckled nose.

 

Tina finishes her last few bites of toast and gets to her feet. She walks around the side of the table and slips into the chair beside him, at first going unnoticed until he peers sideways to inspect who’s there. “Hello, Tina.” Newt says quietly, still paying attention to the book he’d been reading.

 

“Hi… where’s, uh, Leta?” She asks, not wanting to sound rude but feeling too curious to not investigate.

 

“Oh, she didn’t feel too well yesterday. I assume she’s not coming to classes,” he explains. Newt closes his book and nudges his mostly empty plate away from him.

 

Tina watches in silence before he gets to his feet. “Is she alright?” She asks, a handful of genuine concern shown in her voice when she asks the question.

 

“Yes… I suspect it’s just a winter chill.” The boy shrugs simply, starting to leave the room. “See you in class!” He says, turning to tell her before eventually leaving through the two large doors.

 

The American heads back to her own common room too, purposefully avoiding the dorm room just in case Leta is in there. She takes a seat by the fire until it’s time for her first lesson — Charms class. Tina has no troubles with learning new spells and often quite enjoys the challenge, apart from the fact that this is a class she shares with Ravenclaw students, so she doesn’t really have any friends to talk to… she doesn’t really have any friends overall. On her way out of class and towards the library Tina sees Newt heading in the direction of a staircase, so she calls his name. He turns upon realising it’s her — the New York accent is quite recognisable amongst all of the Brits.

 

“Newt, I forgot to say to you earlier… uh, I just wanted to say how good you were with the Hippogriff.” She smiles shyly, tucking a few strands of stray hair behind her ear.

 

He grins before her, a surge of newfound confidence seeming to wash over him all of a sudden. “I could teach you if you want, a — about magical creatures I mean.” The wizard offers.

 

The brunette nods eagerly. “Please, would you?” She asks.

 

“Follow me,” Newt exclaims, changing direction and heading towards the school grounds. Tina hurries after him all the way until they’re outside in the cool breeze of Autumn, and heading towards the trees that embrace each care for magical creatures lesson. But, the clearing is quiet due to there not being a lesson for another few hours, and the Scamander boy sits down on a nearby rock. “Professor Kettleburn doesn’t mind me coming here,” he explains, smiling wide as a small and treelike creature climbs upon his shoulder.

 

“What’s that?” The witch questions, curiosity gleaming amongst her eyes as she takes a few steps closer.

 

“This is a Bowtruckle,” Newt explains, raising his hand to let it climb onto it. “She’s called Penny.”

 

Tina takes a seat on the dusty floor beneath her and watches as Newt lets the creature reside back on his shoulder again. The pair spend an hour sat together whilst he tells her about a handful of his favourite creatures, showing her through the trees and pointing out different species of plants and how to use them in certain potions. Tina had no idea of his knowledge, and is actually rather disappointed when they have to leave in order to attend their next class.

 

She’s starting to really like being around Newt… a lot.


	7. Chapter 7

-

 

_ Tina is back at Ilvermorny, surrounded by familiar faces and her friends from Thunderbird. She’s sat in the Dining Hall, about to eat when a Professor taps her on the shoulder… she turns, and they’re holding a piece of paper. “Miss Goldstein, come with me. It’s about your parents.” The scenery changes and she’s on the floor of the Headmaster’s office. Her sobs echo throughout the room. _

 

Gasping awake, she bolts upright in bed. Her face is damp from the tears that must’ve fallen during the dream, and Tina wipes them away with the sleeve of her sweater. Her feelings of sadness and nostalgia begin to engulf her until she can no longer breathe. Tina tries her hardest to calm her breathing, but with each breath she gets one step closer to a sob. Finally she gives in and cries into her hands, each and every feeling she’s been bottling up since stepping foot onto that boat and making a silent pact to stay strong for her sister shatters into pieces.

 

“Tina?” A female voice suddenly interrupts her moment alone, and at first the witch doesn’t notice that there’s someone else in the room. “Tina?” The voice grows louder yet the Goldstein doesn’t react.

 

“Leave me alone!” She manages to somewhat choke out, but the newcomer sits upon the edge of the bed.

 

Slowly moving her hands, Tina doesn’t expect to see Leta sitting before her. “What do  _ you _ want?” The girl asks, her tone a little harsher than intended.

 

The other student doesn’t back down though. “I was just seeing if you were alright… I think we started off as enemies and it’s my fault.” Leta begins. “I didn’t fight Newt — we were just meant to be practicing defence spells on props when those girls came along. They aren’t really my friends… and, I’m not actually as close to Newt as I seem. I kind of sensed your jealousy and wanted to play on it.” She pauses for a moment.

 

“I’ve never made anyone jealous before.” Leta says quietly.

 

Tina is completely taken aback by her words, and tears are still sliding down her flushed cheeks. She exhales heavily, her shoulders sinking. “Well, if you wanna be friends you coulda just asked.” The witch mumbles, hugging her knees to her chest and avoiding eye contact, she’s still a little skeptical about her fellow Slytherin.

 

“Nobody really wants to be my friend,” Leta mutters. “Anyway you could’ve asked me.” Her fine grows defensive and all of a sudden she gets to her feet.

 

Raising her eyebrows, Tina looks up at the girl. “You don’t have to argue with me… I get it. People judge you for somethin’ you got no control over… I hear the whispers about us both.” Tina says, connecting eyes with Leta.

 

“Do you think I’m bad too?” Her eyes hold a sense of despair, and for the first time Tina actually feels sorry for her.

 

“I don’t know you enough to judge you.” She replies truthfully.

 

Leta seems to let out a small sigh of relief. “Can I show you something?” She asks.

 

“Shouldn’t we be in class?” The other witch frowns, rubbing her eyes and realising that her arms feel a dull ache as they move.

 

Lestrange smiles. “Madam Pomfrey gave me a day to rest… I think you should take a visit to her. I’ll show you that thing another time, deal?” She asks, holding out her hand for Tina to take.

 

“Deal.”

 

-

 

After visiting the hospital wing and being told she has the flu, Tina is now back to moderate full health come Sunday morning. She sits at the Hufflepuff table beside her sister, slowly picking at her plain toast. They’ve been conversing about how Leta has suddenly seemed to take a shine to Tina and Queenie is just as baffled as her big sister. “I thought she didn’t like you?” The young blonde says, taking a bite of her second slice of jam on toast.

 

“Me too.” Tina shrugs, swirling her tea and honey with a tiny spoon. She stares at the liquid until it stops spinning and sighs. “I dunno, she seemed kinda… like she was tellin’ me the truth, y’know?”

 

“Maybe she really does wanna be friends!” Queenie pipes up, turning to Millicent. “What do you think Teenie should do, Mills?” She asks.

 

The other young Hufflepuff looks deep in thought for a moment. “I think it’s always nice to give people a chance. That’s what my Mum says.”

 

Tina smiles. “Your Mom gives good advice,” she comments.

 

“Yes… she does. Tina, how’re you feeling? I, um, I heard you weren’t feeling well on Thursday, I hadn’t a chance to see you.” A familiar, timid voice catches her attention from behind.

 

The girl turns to see Newt standing there, his posture a little hunched as he shys away from her gaze like he usually does. “I’m feelin’ much better, thanks.” She answers.

 

“Um, Leta has asked me to take you somewhere… if… if you want to.” He says, and Tina remembers the girl telling her that she had something to show her a few days prior.

 

Getting to her feet, Tina turns back to her sister. “See you later!” She says, and follows Newt out of the Great Hall. They walk outside and Tina tugs her robes a little tighter around her frame, the October air wrapping around her and causing her to shiver. They keep on walking for a while until Newt shows her through a clearing she’s never seen before, and they eventually get to a tree with a hollow cave in the centre. Leta is sat with her back against the tree and there’s a Bowtruckle upon the top of her palm.

 

“Newt showed me this place a few weeks ago,” she explains. “The Bowtruckles know him.”

 

“It’s very beautiful here,” Tina comments, sitting down in the grass. Newt sits beside her and another Bowtruckle crawls out of the tree and climbs all the way up onto his shoulder.

 

The trio stay there together, sitting in a silence that isn’t uncomfortable. It’s as if three outcasts have somehow managed to slightly fit in amongst one another’s company and that’s all they needed. And, after about half an hour Leta looks at Tina and whispers, “sorry.”

 

-


	8. Chapter 8

 

 

-

 

**_Three months later._ **

 

The Hogwarts express grinds to a halt and students start to file out, bundles of excited chatter buzzing amongst the air about how their Christmases were. Tina and Queenie weave amongst the chaos, their faces blank and unreadable. They don’t stop their quick paced walking until they reach the castle doors and follow everyone into the Great Hall, sitting through the ‘welcome back’ speech; something Tina would have usually enjoyed back in her days at Ilvermorny. Back when she’d spend her holidays with her parents and little sister, all of them together. This year just wasn’t the same.

 

Tina looks around her, the Slytherin table full of familiar faces yet not the one she’s been trying to seek out — it’s clear that Leta isn’t here. She finishes her meal and wanders over to the Hufflepuff table, scanning each seat for another familiar face. But, with no luck once more she hurriedly finds her sister and tells her she’ll see her tomorrow, bidding a quick ‘hello’ to a rather joyous looking Millicent, before rushing out of the Hall in an attempt to find her two… companions. At first she checks the Artefacts room, and then the Slytherin common room and dorms. Each having no luck.

 

Deciding that they must be elsewhere in the castle and may not want to be bothered, Tina decides to head back to the Great Hall. Her friendship with the two progressed fairly slowly over the past few months before everyone headed home for the holidays, but they made Tina feel a little more welcome and that was something she needed to cling onto.

 

The witch is about to turn a corner, and stops when she hears Leta’s name. “I heard she didn’t go home for the holidays — nobody loves her enough.” A girl sneers, and Tina frowns. She peers around the corner, recognising the girl to be a Gryffindor in the same year as her.

 

“It’s not nice to talk about people you don’t know.” She says, and the girl looks up at her and away from the boy beside her.

 

“What do you know? I heard you’re the same anyway… nobody to love you either, I bet your holidays were worse.” Tina knows she shouldn’t let the words hurt her, yet they still sting like a fresh wound.

 

Becoming speechless and feeling her eyes start to prick with tears, Tina hears the girl laugh. “Hey!” Another voice shouts, and the brunette turns to see Leta with her wand raised. “Leave my friend alone if you want to keep your tongue.”

 

The Gryffindor boy reaches into his robes pocket and withdraws his wand too, leaving Tina stuck in the middle. “We’re going now. But, you should really stop judging people based on your own insecurities.” Tina states as confidently as she can, turning around and walking towards Leta so that her line of fire is blocked. She takes her by the arm and leads her around another corner, sighing quietly from the relief that neither students behind her tried anything unfairly just like what had happened before.

 

“Tina, I could’ve taken them both!” Leta groans, pocketing her wand and leaning up against the wall behind her.

 

“I don’t doubt it, but I also don’t want detention this early into a new term… have you seen Newt by the way?” She switches subjects to try and distract the girl.

 

“I was actually going to ask you the same thing,” Leta says. “But, I have an idea. Follow me!” The Slytherin girl starts off in the direction of the astronomy towers, sneaking through a half open door and briefing taking a glance behind her to ensure that Tina is following.

 

The girls ascend a short flight of stairs before finding who they’ve been looking for — Newt is sat cross legged on the floor, holding an owl chick. “He fledged the nest too early,” he explains. “I found him when I arrived.”

 

“Have you eaten anything at the feast?” Tina asks, taking a seat beside him.

 

The Hufflepuff shakes his head. “Not yet, I’m just finishing up here.” He answers, and she looks around to see various jars of creature food and a rogue Bowtruckle amongst the shelves. This must be another one of Newt’s safe spaces to hideout in.

 

Once he’s finished helping the little owl chick the trio head back into the castle corridors, and make their way towards the feast to grab a last minute bite. Each of them finish up and then head back to their dorms before curfew ends, ready to begin their new term at Hogwarts.

 

-

 

The next morning their first lesson is Transfiguration, which is quite unfortunate due to the Professor’s tendencies to be rather strict. Newt takes a seat beside Leta and Tina sits at the desk behind them. They each share a slight glance before the lesson begins, which is when the two witches notice that there’s something twig-like and green in Newt’s robe pocket. The lesson starts off fairly well with a demonstration in how to turn a porcupine into a pin cushion and then back again, but the Scamander boy is a little more interested in chatting to his little creature rather than practicing on it.

 

“Scamander, is there something wrong with your wand abilities or are you simply ignoring the lesson’s objectives?” The woman leading the class announces for all of the class to hear, causing Newt to turn a little pink in the cheeks from embarrassment. She peers closer at him, noticing the creature inside of his pocket now too. “You have not brought another strange creature into my class have you, Newton?” She sighs loudly, movin closer to his desk.

 

The young wizard gulps, forgetting about the mischievous Bowtruckle and his likeness of living in his robes. “But, Professor —“

 

“I simply do not allow it!” She interrupts, her shrill tone making him flinch in fright.

 

He glances upwards, then stares back down at his desk again. “There are no strange creatures, Professor. Only blinkered people.” Newt says quietly, and the woman scoffs rather rudely above him.

 

“Detention then, Scamander. I won’t have this behaviour in my classroom.” She utters, turning on her heel to walk back to the front of the classroom.

 

“Hey!” Leta exclaims. “He didn’t do anything wrong!” She persists, earning the stone stare from her Professor who purses her lips tightly together in a line.

 

“Would you like to join him?” The elder witch asks simply.

 

The young Slytherin folds her arms across her chest. “He didn’t do anything wrong,” Leta repeats, sitting back down in her seat with a dramatic thump.

 

“I’m taking that as a yes. Does anybody else want to disagree with me today?” Their Professor asks, earning silence back from her students before continuing the rest of the lesson.

 

Tina leans forwards in her seat, tapping Newt gently on the back when their teacher isn’t looking. “You okay?” She asks in a whisper, he turns slightly and nods. The girl smiles, leaning backwards but accidentally causing her chair to scrape against the floor. She grimaces and sits back down, knowing that most eyes are now on her.

 

“Miss Goldstein?” Tina looks up to see their teacher stood above her.

 

“Yes, Professor?”

 

“Are you disagreeing with me?”

 

The girl sighs. “Well… I don’t think he did anythin’ wrong, but —“

 

_“Detention.”_

 

-

 

**_Saturday morning…_ **

 

The trio meet-up outside of the detention classroom, all rather miffed to be missing various weekend activities — Newt wants to check on his owl chick, Leta would rather be wandering the grounds away from the enclosed space of the castle and Tina just wants to be back in bed really. “Morning,” Leta grumbles first, leaning up against the wall. Tina nods towards her but Newt doesn’t say anything at all.

 

A few moments later the door opens and the three of them wander in, clearly the only three students who had gained detention on their first week back — theirs being their first actual day. Leta sort of counts this as quite an achievement, but Newt is indifferent to detention at this point in time. “Professor Dumbledore?” Lestrange frowns, expecting their Transfiguration Professor instead.

 

“Good morning,” the man smiles, sat atop of his desk. “Professor Piquery was a little busy today, so I decided to help her out. Take a seat,” he tells them, and each student sits down at a desk a few metres apart from one another so as to abide by the usual rules still.

 

After almost half an hour passes and the only sound to be heard has even the ticking clock, Dumbledore starts to chuckle. “You can say something… I’m not going to jinx anyone.” He tells them, causing each student to look slightly confused.

 

Leta gets up first and moves to sit next to Newt, gesturing for Tina to do the same. The trio are now gathered around one desk yet still feeling on edge in case this is some kind of weird test. After the hour has ended and they’ve engaged in idle chatter about creatures since that’s the subject that keeps Scamander at ease, the Professor dismisses them.

 

Now out in the corridor Tina breathes a sigh of relief. “That was…”

 

“Strange.” Lestrange finishes her sentence for her and the fellow Slytherin nods.

 

They all head out into the courtyard to return to the warmth of the main castle, their feet crunching against the snow beneath them. Just before they reach the door both Tina and Newt feel a snowball hit each of them on their backs, and they turn to see Leta grinning. “Got you!” She exclaims, already rolling another ball of snow in her hands.

 

“You’re gonna regret that!” The brunette girl exclaims, reaching down to roll a snowball of her own.

 

She squeals suddenly as one hits her neck, then stands up and manages to get Leta back with perfect aim. The trio continue their snowball fight until every single one of them are lying on their backs laughing harder than they’ve laughed in a very long time. Newt offers each of the girls a hand to help them up, and Tina wipes away a tear from under her eye once she’s back on her feet again. She turns to her new friend, and then looks back at Newt again. “Thanks,” the girl mumbles, avoiding their gaze as she becomes a little shy.

 

“I get it,” Leta answers, leading the way back to the castle.

 

The trio dry off inside and the girls head to their dorm. Scamander explains that he’ll be tending to his owl chick and that he’ll see them later, so they both head upstairs to take a well deserved nap.

 

-


End file.
